first time in a long time
I started the Prokofiev sonata last week. It’s the first brand new solo work I’ve started in several years, and it’s been fun to try and apply best practices and really enrich the experience. Here is my process, thus far: Listen, away from the score. I love Misha’s playing, but honestly this is all about […]
first book of the year: effortless mastery
As part of this year of recommitment and reflection, I thought I’d pick up a book that was introduced to me as an undergraduate. Kenny Werner is a towering colossus in the jazz world, and a favorite of many music education types. As I re-read, I am so grateful I first encountered it when I […]
2021 project
2020 was a year of extremes. While my finances have rarely been so dire, I have also rarely felt so supported. With virtually everything at a standstill, a vision for what I want the middle third of my career to look like came into sharp view. While I’m waiting for the logistical side of things […]
Lonely Cello
While purists snipe and decry their very existence as folly, the fact remains that there are legions of solitary cellists out there. Perhaps you, gentle reader, are one yourself. Some folks choose to live far from populations centers where music instructors and community groups abound. Some players experience tremendous anxiety even thinking about playing for […]
ICS answers: what’s the best scale book?
Elegie triplets: help for a tricky passage
send me your problems!
Everyone has reacted to the changes brought about by covid-19 differently. Many of my musical colleagues have become prolifically creative; the sudden confinement and lack of performance outlets funneling their energies into new compositions and inventive self-accompanied recordings. I, on the other hand, have felt quiet and reflective: my Popper practice in particular has become […]
next stop: Geneva
Geneva, New York is situated at the top of one of the famous Finger Lakes, so named because, well, look at the picture below. Zooming in a little further, Geneva (named for its resemblance to the one in Switzerland) is parked right at the north end of Seneca Lake, about an hour from Syracuse to […]
Oregon
To get to my accommodations in the unincorporated town of Temmile, I took two flights: DC to MSP, MSP to PDX. I landed around 8pm, went to the wrong rental car place (twice), and was routed, terrified, around the shipping containers and dark warehouses that surround the airport. A downpour at night is not the […]
help for a sore thumb
Originally published 7 January 2008. The main takeaway I have, now that an additional 12 years have elapsed, is that while the larger aspects of this post hold true, bow hold is wildly variable. The video I posted about visualization addressed it a bit: the function must lead the form. As it turns out, chasing […]
